


Fallen Down

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: American Sign Language, F/F, F/M, Female Reader, Fluff and Angst, Frisk Uses Sign Language, Multi, Mute Frisk, Reader Is Not Frisk, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Social Anxiety, Stuttering Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-05-13 01:34:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5689492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since you were little you had suffered from anxiety that kept you quiet and easily forgotten. You had planned going through college the same way you had went through all school- quietly and without leaving a reminder. Never in your weirdest dreams (and you had weird ones) did you expect to befriend a group of loving monsters. </p><p>Never before had the world looked so bright... Until you fell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moving day

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thanks for taking the time to read my story- it means a lot! Sorry that the summary sucks, they are the bane of my existence. If you want to discuss anything you can check out my tumblr: beautifulnightingale.tumblr.com

It was early in the morning when you put the last box of your stuff into the moving companies van and handed one of the helpers the key to your new house. You let out a soft sigh as you turned to look at your old childhood home for the last time. The house was an old two-story house with few problems but many memories. It had hurt to sell the house but since your parents death you hadn’t been able to afford both the land payments and college tuition at the same time.

Your parents left money for you, of course, but you had put that into savings and didn’t want to spend it on one or two land payments. The only choice you had was to sell the house and move into a cheaper house near your college in order to save money on gas. You hoped this would help you save enough money so you wouldn’t have to add on a full-time job with your schooling.

You took your time as you walked through the familiar halls for the last time, going into every room to silently reminise. When you got to your parents room, you hesitated before taking a deep breath and entering. It was empty- your friends had thankfully packed everything for you- but you could still see the evidence that they once lived there. A small crack traveled along a part of the wall where your mother had kicked it while trying to kill a spider.

You chuckled softly at the memory before exiting the door and going to the last room in the hall- your room. It was a small room but it held some of your best and happiest memories from your childhood. The room had seen much- your first kiss, your first promise, all the tears you shed.

You were going to miss it.

A soft sigh left your lips as you gave your room a wistful look before turning and hurrying out the house. You locked the door behind you, reluctantly leaving your key in the mailbox for your sales agent to retrieve later that afternoon.

With that, you hurried to your car and started the engine before heading across town to your new neighborhood. It was a long drive since you decided to take the back way in order to pass through the forest. You loved the forest- you had grown up with it and had always been exploring it when you were younger. Luckily, your house’s backyard practically led to the forest and you were quite happy that you could still explore it after a stressful day at school.

Before you knew it, your new neighborhood was coming up and you could feel your belly begin to twist in worry. You hoped your neighbors were nice and weren’t like the ones you saw in the old cheesy 80s movies. Back at your old house, you never really had to worry about angering the neighbors since they lived miles away from you.

 _‘I guess this is home,’_ you thought to yourself as you drove up and parked your car in the driveway. You silently got out of your car and looked over your house, barely paying the moving company any mind. The house was small compared to your last one but you didn’t mind- you didn’t need those extra rooms anyways.

You took a moment to look at the houses around you, noting that you had neighbors on either sides of your house with fences separating the different properties. There wasn’t a house across from yours since there was a large slope in the ground that lead into the forest.

 _‘I wonder why they haven't fenced that in,’_ you thought with a frown. _‘Somebody could fall down the slope if they weren’t paying attention.’_ You shook your head before walking into your new house.

It was a simple house, you supposed, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room. As you entered your new home, you saw that the movers had already put all the furniture in your living room, kitchen, and your room while they were currently finishing the guest bedroom.

You put your bag down on the counter before you began to unpack your kitchen stuff, keeping an eye on the moving company workers to make sure they didn’t break anything. Your shoulders tensed when you saw three of the workers begin to bring your taken apart grand piano into the house and head to your room.

 _‘Just don’t think about it,’_ you told yourself as tried to calm down your worry and focussed on putting your plates away. You were relieved when they finally finished moving and putting your piano back together and were happy to see them off.

“Th-thank you for th-the he-help,” you said softly as you riffled through your wallet for a decent tip. Once you found a decent amount for the three to split, you handed him the money and turned to walk back to your house when his voice stopped you.

“It’s no problem miss but I wish you had decided to move somewhere more… safe,” he said, a hint of disgust in his voice. You froze and turned to look at him curiously, not understanding why he thought it was unsafe.

“Wh-what do you mean?” You asked.

He gave you an incredulous look before shaking his head, “miss, are you telling me you haven’t noticed what you’re surrounded by?” You shook your head. “You’re surrounded by monsters- you’re the only human on this street!”

You blink slowly in surprise- you hadn’t noticed it at all. Hell, you hadn’t noticed or seen any of neighbors since you first found the house for sale. _‘I think I know why the house was so cheap,’_ you thought to yourself. _‘Hardly anyone wants to live near monsters…’_

You gave the man a disapproving look before heading back into your house without another word. It had been about a year since the monsters came out from underground and tensions were as high as they were when they first came out. You were one of the few who didn’t have a problem with monsters; you even were friends with a few.

Sure, they were different than you but that was okay- it didn’t mean you all couldn’t get along or exist peacefully. Sadly, not everyone thought like you and most people feared the monsters from the underground.

A soft sigh left your lips as you locked the door behind you and slowly began to unpack the rest of your boxes. Thankfully, you had found your speakers early on and were blasting music through your house. Absently, you hoped that the house walls were thick enough so your neighbors didn’t hear your blasting music. Annoying them would definitely _not_ be a good first impression to leave.

Hours passed and before you knew it, you had your kitchen and your bedroom situated to your liking. After looking at your clock and seeing that it was nearing the time you usually slept, you ate before heading to bed.

* * *

It barely felt like you had went to sleep when your alarm clock went off, signaling that it was time to get up and get ready for school. Slowly, you pulled yourself out of bed and took a shower. Once you were ready, you grabbed a small snack, your backpack and made your way out of your house and to your car. As you walked to your car, you noticed what looked like the beginning of a garden in the front of your yard and told yourself that you would begin to work on it after unpacking.

“Good morning!” A cheerful voice said from behind you, causing you to jump and snap around. You blinked slowly as you were met with a pair of kind eyes belonging to a tall and elegant goat monster. She wore a fine dress  and was holding hands with a young human child who was waving happily at you.

“Good morning,” You said softly, giving them a shy smile and a little wave. A part of you wished you could introduce yourself properly but you were going to be late for your first class if you didn’t leave soon. Another part of you was glad you couldn’t- your anxiety always acted up around new people and you really didn’t need that before school. 

  
_‘I’ll try to introduce myself properly next time I see them,’_ you thought to yourself as you start your car and begin to back out. _‘I hope that’s soon…’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you want to discuss, tag it as 'fallen down fanfic'! Special thanks to my beta reader Cali (ser-pounce-a-lots-twin-brother.tumblr.com), they're great!


	2. Tackle and roll

You awoke to the loud blaring of your alarm clock going off, telling you that it was well past 5 pm and that you needed to get up. Grumpily, you muttered under your breath and turned your alarm off. After a few minutes of lazing in bed, you forced yourself to get up and hobble to your bathroom to get ready.

_‘I should have gotten up earlier,’_ You thought to yourself as you brushed your teeth. _‘I wasted the whole day trying to catch up on lost sleep…’_  

A few weeks had passed since you moved into your new home and you still hadn’t introduced yourself to your neighbors. It wasn’t entirely your fault- unpacking, school, and your part-time job had kept you very busy. You haven’t had the time to introduce yourself and usually only managed a quiet hello and a wave before rushing off to wherever you were needed. And when you did have free time, you were either sleeping or practising your piano for the upcoming festival.

Today, you had decided, was the day you were finally going to start working on the flower bed of your garden. You were caught up on sleep (miraculously) and needed time away from the piano or else you were going to grow frustrated.

_‘Hmm… what to wear…’_ You thought to yourself before deciding on an old pair of shorts and a baggy shirt.. You hummed softly as you grabbed your tools and flowers that you had bought the other day. It was surprisingly quiet as you stepped out the front door and headed to the garden, used to hearing children running around the neighborhood and the occasional yelling a few houses down.

_‘I wonder where everyone is,’_ you thought as you got settled down in your garden and began to shift the dirt. You continued to hum under your breath as you combined fertilizer with the dirt the garden already had. _‘What to plant first…’_ Your eyes landed on the carnations you bought and decided to plant them first. Quickly, you made a decent sized hole for the plant then wiggled the plant out of the pot. You spread the roots out before placing it in the hole, beginning to cover it with your combination of dirt and fertilizer. 

Just as you were about to finish, you heard the faint sound of approaching footsteps and you glanced up to see the young child that usually walked with the goat monster. They had headphones in their ears and headed in the direction of the mailboxes. You were surprised that their mother (you assumed) was not walking with them since they seemed a little young to be walking to the mailboxes alone. 

_‘I guess it’s safe for them,’_ You thought to yourself as you waved to the child. _‘They seem to know what they’re doing…’_ With that, you resumed your gardening and finishing planting the carnation. You poked small holes in the area around the newly planted flower and sprinkled a few vitamins into each before covering them back up.

A relaxed sigh left your lips as you leaned back on your heels to observe you work, satisfied with how it looked. It had been years since you’ve had a new garden to work in and you forgot how much you missed it. You admired your work for a few minutes longer before starting another hole for another carnation.

Your eyes were suddenly drawn back to the street as you saw that the young child returned from retrieving the mail. They smiled happily as they seemed to dance along with the beat of the music they listened to. Suddenly they stopped dancing and crouched down, looking at something in the street.

You shook your head in amusement and were about to focus back on your gardening when you noticed a large truck heading down the street. A frown crossed your lips when you saw it- having never seen it before- and you glanced at the kid who didn’t notice the truck.

“Hey kid!” You shouted, attempting to get their attention. Your eyes darted to the truck and saw that it hadn’t slowed down, guessing that the driver hadn’t noticed the kid. The kid seemed to have not heard you either, not looking away from what they saw on the ground. “Kid!”

Still they did not hear you and you quickly stood up, waving your hands wildly in an attempt to gain their attention. Your breath began to speed up in panic when you saw that the kid didn’t notice you and you began to hurry to the front of your yard. 

“Kid, get out of th-the road,” You continued to shout, your panic increasing when both the kid and driver of the truck didn’t notice you. The car was close to the kid when they picked up what they found on the road and stood up, finally noticing the approaching truck. Their face twisted in terror and they froze, unmoving and only staring at the approaching vehicle. 

The terror on their face seemed to spark something in you and suddenly, you were running toward the kid. You could almost feel the heat of the truck as you practically tackled the kid and threw both you and the kid to the other side. Sadly, you hadn’t remembered the slope on the other side of the road and both you and the kid flew other the edge.

You didn’t know how you did it but after the first roll you had managed to curl your body around the kid’s and took most of the damage as you crashed through shrubs and over large rocks. A cry of pain left your lips as your shoulder crashed into the edge of a tree and you could feel your bones shift. Your movements slowly came to a halt and for what seemed like hours, you could do nothing but pant between your whimpers of pain. 

Slowly, you lessened your grip on the child and finally noticed that they had their arms wrapped around you tightly as they trembled and sobbed silently. You forced yourself to push your pain away and you loosely hugged the kid, trying to calm them down. 

“It’s okay, little one,” you murmured softly, lightly patting their back. “You’re safe… It’s going to be okay…”

They let out a loud sniff as they slowly looked up at you, their large, brown eyes full of tears that dripped down their cheeks. The child slowly released their grip on you and they moved their hand slowly, trying to sign something through their trembling.

**‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’**

You could barely make out what they were trying to sign due to the trembling in their arm and their shaking body. You tried to smile reassuringly (though you were sure it was more of a grimace) and signed back.

**‘It’s okay- it wasn’t your fault. I should have paid attention to the slope when I tried to get us save but I didn’t. It’s my fault.’**

They shook their head as they wiped their eyes, trying to halt the tears that wouldn’t stop spilling down their cheeks. **‘Thank you for saving me,’** they looked up at you with watery eyes and gave you another hug.

You winced in pain but nodded your head and began to look around. _‘God, where are we?’_ You looked in the direction you had came from and were shocked to see how far you went. Faintly, you could see the slope (or hill based on where you sat) through the trees and you knew without walking to it that there was no way the both of you could make it up the slope without harming yourselves further.

**‘We should try to get back to the road,’** You told them as you gently pulled away from them and struggled to your feet. Your whole body was aching in pain and you could feel blood running down your arms and the scrapes on your legs. Your side ached horribly and you guessed that you must have bruised your rip. From the roaring pain in your left shoulder, you guessed that you dislocated your shoulder.

 Slowly, you helped the child to their feet and were relieved to see that they hadn't broken any bones and only had scrapes on their arms and legs. **‘What’s your name?’** You signed, trying to get their attention.

  **‘Frisk.’**

  **‘Well Frisk, I’m ______. I’m sorry I had to introduce myself like this,’** you gave them what you hoped was an apologetic smile. **‘Now I want you to hold my hand and stay close to me, okay? I don’t want you to get lost.’**

 They simply nodded their head and took a step toward you when their left leg gave away and they fell. You quickly, crouched down to them and examined their leg, making sure they hadn’t broken anything. **‘I think you sprained your ankle,’** You signed. **‘I don’t want you to make it worse so I’m going to carry you, okay?’** They nodded. **‘Hold on tight.’**

 You grabbed them tightly in one arm and lifted them up, having them wrap their arms around your neck and their legs around your side as best as they could. Once you had a decent grip on them, you began to shakily walk toward the hill. As you neared it, you were positive that you were not going to be able to make the climb and instead began to walk along the slope in order to go around it.

 Your body was roaring in pain by the time you found the road and you couldn’t help but sigh in relief. It was nearly dark and you could barely see what was in front of you and had nearly tripped several times. You glanced at Frisk worryingly as you began to walk along the thankfully empty road. They had hardly moved since you began to walk and you were worried that they were hurt worse then they seemed.

 A happy laugh left your lips as you made it to your home and you slowly went inside, placing Frisk on the couch. You turned the light on as you hurried to your kitchen and grabbed an ice-pack out of your freezer.

 “I want you to keep th-this on your ankle, okay?” You asked aloud as you grabbed your phone from the coffee table. “Is your mom home?” They shook their head, “who’s watching you?”

  **‘My babysitter, Miss. Rose,’** Frisk signed, a hint of disdain on their face. **‘I don’t like her very much. She’s really mean and won’t let me play outside.’**

 “Is she at your house?”

  **‘No, she left an hour after mom left,’** Frisk frowned, **‘She said she would only be gone for ten minutes but she never came back. That was around four…’**

 “Hopefully your mom ne-never asks her to return,” you mutter under your breath. “Do you know your mom’s number?”

 Frisk’s eyes filled with tears as they shook their head, **‘I can’t remember.’**

 You let out a soft sigh and told them to wait there as you went to your bathroom and looked through the cupboard for a first-aid kit. After a few minutes, you found it hidden in the back and you quickly pulled it out. Just as you were about to leave, you finally caught sight of your reflection and you winced.

 You looked at shitty as you felt with your hair being a tangled mess, leaves and twigs sticking out. Blood crusted on your cheek from a scrape and your arms were all scratched and red with blood. Your legs were worse than your arms and although most of your scrapes had crusted over, some were still bleeding. Already your left shoulder was covered in dark bruises that spread to your chest.

 A groan left your lips as you saw the state of your clothing and you quickly headed back to your living room. As you entered, you turned on all the lights and gently picked Frisk back up so you could place them on a kitchen chair.

 “I’m going to clean your scrapes as best I can, okay?” You asked and they simply nodded their hands, twisting the fabric of their sweater in their hands. You opened your first-aid kit and grabbed out all that you would need before taking a cloth out and wetting it. As you wiped at their arms and legs, you tried to get their mind off of it by talking.

 You asked random questions that popped into your mind and Frisk would answer, smiling when you answered a question back weirdly. “Th-this is going to sting a bit,” you murmured as you dipped hydrogen peroxide on the cloth and began to gently wipe it over the wound. Frisk tensed in their spot and tightened their grip on their sweater.

 “Th-there we go! We’re all done,” you told Frisk happily. You picked them up again and placed them on your couch, elevating their ankle and putting the ice-pack back on. “I did e-everything th-that I could here… Your mom is going to have to decide on wh-whether or not to take you to the hospital because of the ankle.” Frisk made a face. “Sorry kiddo but I don’t have any say on th-that… Now, le-let me put on some cartoons…”

 You turned your tv on and turned to your favorite cartoon channel and after you asked to make sure it was okay, you left to fix yourself. Slowly, you cleaned out your cuts and scrapes and made sure nothing had managed to get in your cuts. When you finished, you went over your cuts with hydrogen peroxide and deemed yourself okay until you left for the hospital. You knew you had to go, with the swelling and bruising (as well as the pain) around your shoulder, you knew you had dislocated it.

 A soft sigh left your lips before you took a few painkillers and went to sit by Frisk on the couch, wondering how you were going to get ahold of their mother. Just as you were about to ask Frisk if they wanted to go to their house to wait, they suddenly sat up straight and began to dig around their pockets.

 “Are you okay, Frisk?” You asked worrying, hoping that nothing had gotten into their pockets and was making them uncomfortable. Your question was answered as they pulled a cellphone out of their pocket and beamed happily. “Is it okay If I call your mom?”

 They nodded their head and clicked on a few buttons and handed you the phone. You put the phone to your ear and asked, “wh-what’s your mother’s name?”

  **‘Toriel.’**

You nodded your head and patiently waited for her to answer, frowning when it only went to voicemail. After a second of debating, you decided to leave a voicemail for her to find when she looked at her phone.

 “He-hello Toriel? Um, it’s _____ your new human neighbor?” You began uncertainly, glancing at Frisk to see them give you a smile. “Frisk had a bit of an accident earlier today. Um, th-they were in the middle of the road and didn’t notice th-the truck th-that was approaching. I managed to tackle th-them out of the way but I forgot about th-the slope and w-we rolled down into th-the forest. I be-believe Frisk only has a some scrapes and a twisted ankle but I’m not sure. Th-they’re at my house at th-the moment so wh-when you get th-this, you can come straight here. We’ll be uh waiting…”

 You handed the phone back to Frisk and turned your attention back to the tv, trying to relax and ignore your burning shoulder. Just as you started to doze off you heard frantic knocking on the door, causing you to jump and hurt your shoulder. A hiss of pain left your lips before you hurried to your feet and opened the door to see Toriel’s tear-full eyes.

 “Is Frisk okay? Where are they?” Toriel asked worrying, trying to peer behind you in search of her child. You nodded your head before pointing to the living room, letting her hurry past you to the child. As you went to close the door, you caught sight of a group of monsters standing by Toriel’s car. Your eyes caught those of a pretty fish like monster and let out a squeak before shutting the door.

 You could feel your anxiety eating at your belly and you took deep breaths to calm yourself, only accomplishing in pushing it down. After composing yourself, you hurried to where Frisk and Toriel were and saw that she was hugging them close to her chest, sniffling loudly. A soft smile crossed your lips at the scene and you awkwardly stood to the side for them to finish their moment. When Toriel noticed you standing there, she smiled widely before letting go of Frisk to hug you.

“Thank you so much,” Toriel said happily. You could only nod your head and hug her back with your one good arm, wincing as her hug stung your shoulder. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you…”

 “You don’t have to repay me,” you shook your head with a small smile. “I couldn’t just stand and watch Frisk g-get hurt… And anyways, It’s kinda my fault th-that th-they got as hurt as th-they did…”

“It doesn’t matter- you still saved my child’s life without thinking of the consequences,” Toriel waved it away. “I will always be in your dept…”

 You didn’t know what to say so you simply smiled at her and released her from the hug. Toriel didn’t seem to mind and she went back over to Frisk, looking over the scrapes on their arms and legs and resting her hand on her chest. You watched with wide eyes as a light blue left her hands and spread across Frisk’s body, healing their wounds shut.

  
“Is th-that magic?” You asked in awe, eyes shining from the beauty in it. Toriel simply nodded your way before narrowing her eyes as she took in your injuries.

 “Child, you’re hurt,” she said worryingly, taking your hand and moving you so you sat on the couch. “Let me heal you- it’s the least I can do!” You glanced at Frisk and they gave you an encouraging nod and watched as you agreed. Toriel smiled before placing her hand on your chest, the same light blue magic coming from her hands and spreading across your body.

 A sigh of relief left your lips as the sting from your scrapes went away and you could feel your skin mend itself. It was an odd feeling but not an unpleasant one and before you knew it, you felt Toriel pull away. She looked at your dislocated shoulder and frowned, “I can fix this but it’s going to hurt… Do you mind?” You merely shook your head and looked away as you waited for her to jerk it in place. A shout of pain left your lips as your shoulder jerked into place before you felt Toriel’s warm magic sooth the pain.

 “Th-thank you,” you murmured softly, gently placing your hand on your shoulder and giving it a slow roll. “Saved me a trip to the hospital and a lot of money…”

 “It’s the least I could do,” Toriel smiled before her eyes widened as she realized something. “Oh my I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet! I’m sure Frisk already told you but I am Toriel.”

 “It’s great to meet you,” you beamed, “I’m _____!”

 “Well _____, would you like to join Frisk and I for dinner tomorrow? I would love to get to know the one who saved my child’s life…”

 You blushed softly before nodding your head slowly, deciding it couldn’t hurt. Toriel and Frisk left soon after giving you their phone numbers and their address. As soon as they were gone, you locked your door and hurried to take a shower. You didn’t know how long you sat in the bath, trying to get rid of all the dirt still caked to your skin or all the leaves and twigs stuck in your hair.

  _‘These clothes are done for,’_ you thought to yourself sadly once you finished your shower and looked at the ruined clothes. You tossed them into your garbage before you headed to your room and flopped down on your bed. Only a few minutes passed before sleep overcame you, blessing you with its peaceful darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "OMG thxs ur g8"  
> ~Toriel, 2016


	3. Dinner with friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for the long wait in an update- had a little difficulty in writing the chapter! The next chapter is already almost done so it should hopefully be up sooner than last time! 
> 
> Thanks for reading, enjoy the chapter!

You sat comfortably in a meadow of colorful flowers, a gentle breeze tugging at your hair while the sun kissed your skin. A happy sigh left your lips as you laid down in the flowers, eyes looking up at the white, fluffy clouds that were, for some reason, shaped like goats, fish, and a child that strangely resembled Frisk. You squinted your eyes and sat up, looking at the clouds suspiciously and wondering if someone was pranking you. 

Just as you were about to shrug it off and lay back down, you felt the ground shake around you before an abnormally large groundhog popped out of the ground. For a few moments, you simply stared at the animal in confusion before it’s mouth opened and in an animated voice said, “it’s 8:30, time to wake up!”

Your brows furrowed in confusion- you already were up! A moment passed before it began to beep, slow at first before gaining speed. You simply stared at the groundhop with a raised brow before scooting away.

“It’s now 8:45, time to get up!” It said again, causing your frown to deepen. No way had it been fifteen minutes! You were about to get up when a loud knocking came out of nowhere and you looked around in confusion. Just as you stood up and a took a step forward, you tripped on a root that somehow popped up and fell.

With a gasp, you jolted up from your bed, looking around wildly in your confusion.  _ ‘I…. It was a dream?’ _ You asked yourself tiredly, wiping the sleep from your eyes.  _ ‘What a weird dream…’ _

It was then that you noticed the same beeping from your dream and you turned to see your clock going crazy. You eyes widened in shock as you saw that bright numbers ‘9:00’ flashing on your screen.

“Shit! I’m going to be late!” You couldn’t stop the shout from leaving you in your panic and you jumped to your feet, barely remembering to turn off your clock. As you quickly brushed your hair and teeth you heard the sound of someone knocking but ignored it. If it was important, they would come back later- you really didn’t have the time to chat.

Quickly, you shoved on a random dress from your closet and a pair of flats, not caring or knowing if it matched or not. You frantically grabbed your sheet music off your stand and shoved it in your backpack before grabbing your wallet and keys then hurrying out the door.

...And into a solid body. You gasped as you collided with the rather boney body and fell to the ground, on top of whoever you hit. For a moment, you froze before your brain reminded you that you were going to be late for school and you jumped to your feet. “I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention,” you said as quickly as you could, grabbing your backpack and slamming the door shut behind you. “Wish I could apologize properly but I really need to leave!”

You practically ran to your car, throwing your backpack into the passenger seat and you were about to start the car when you realized your keys weren’t in your hands. “Wh-where th-the he-hell did th-they go?” You demanded as you frantically looked under and in your backpack without success.

Your hands were beginning to shake and you could feel yourself begin to panic- you absolutely couldn’t be late! Your professor hated when you showed up late for class and if you had work due that day (which you did) she wouldn’t accept it. Just as you felt tears threaten to fill your eyes, you heard a light tapping at your window, causing you to jump and look out the window.

You blinked slowly as you saw what looked like a skeleton grinning broadly at you, holding your wallet and car keys. “forget something, buddy?”

A shaky smile crossed your lips as you opened the door (the windows didn’t roll down unless the car was on) and accepted the items he (you guessed based on his voice and the slope of his skull) dropped in your hands.

“Th-thank you so much,” you murmured as you quickly turned on your car. “I wish I could both th-thank and apologize properly to you but I have,” you glanced at the clock in your car, “fifteen minutes to get to school!”

You gave him one last shaky smile before pulling of the driveway and hurrying down the thankfully empty road. As you drove to your college, you continuously glanced at the clock to make sure you weren’t going to be late. With only five minutes, you finally parked and hurried out your car with your backpack in your hands. The bell rang just as you stepped into class and you hurried to your seat, thankful that you arrived on time.

_ ‘Thank god that skeleton came with my keys,’ _ you thought to yourself as you grabbed your papers from your bag and got ready for class.  _  ‘I really have to apologize to him… Especially after my crappy thank you!’  _ You grimaced as you leaned down to grab a pen, feeling a sharp pain coming from your rips.  _ ‘I must have forgotten to tell Toriel I hurt my ribs…’ _

Only a few minutes passed before your professor started class and you turned your attention to what she was saying. Although Music Theory was one of your favorite classes, you wished it would end so you could go to your next classes then go home. The extra hour of sleep you had did nothing to help you- it only made it worse then usual. Thankfully, you only had three classes to take so you could get home early.

The day seemed to drag on slowly and you were thankful when your last class was over with so you could go home. “Are you ready for the festival next week?” Your closest friend, Anna, asked as the two of you headed out your last class and to your cars. “You’re playing one of your originals on your piano, aren’t you?”

“I don’t th-think I’m going to,” you let out a soft sigh, running a hand through your hair. “I haven’t had th-the inspiration to create a new piece in months… I more th-than likely will have to just play a movement from  _ Moonlight Sonata…  _ Most likely th-the third movement.”

“That’s still impressive,” Anna said comfortingly. You weren’t convinced but said nothing, instead you bid her farewell as you got to your car, starting the engine and beginning the short drive home.

A soft sigh left your lips as you thought about all the homework you had to do and a part of you wished you could just go straight to sleep. The ringing of your phone startled you out of your thoughts and you quickly answered your phone.

“He-hello?”

“Good afternoon, _____! It’s Toriel,” the goat monster said happily from the other side, the faint sound of people talking behind her getting through to you. “I was just wondering if any of your injuries are still hurting so I can fix that before dinner.”

You bit your lip as you debated on whether or not to tell her about your ribs but in the end you decided not to- you didn’t want to bother her. “No, none of th-them have been hurting at all,” you told her, feeling your belly twist at your lie. “Not even my shoulder- it feels as if nothing happened yesterday!”

“I’m glad,” you could practically imagine her beaming face and that did nothing but increase your guilt. “I was also wondering which you liked better; cinnamon or butterscotch?”

You thought for a moment before replying, “either or if fine… Wh-whichever is easier for you to make!”

“Thank you, my dear!” She said happily, “well I won’t hold you any longer- we’ll see you at six!”

You murmured your farewell before putting your phone down and continuing your way to your house. As you parked your car, you grabbed your backpack and headed up the driveway, frowning when you noticed that you hadn’t put up your gardening tools from yesterday. With a pained grunt, you bent down and picked up your tools while leaving your flowers where they were.  _ ‘They could use the light,’ _ you reasoned with yourself, refusing to admit that you were just to lazy to make a second trip to get them.

Once you put everything back in its right place, you changed into more comfortable clothing and headed to the kitchen. You sang softly as you rifled through your cabinet for something to eat, grabbing a bag of chips and heading to the living room.

“I guess th-this is fine,” you murmured aloud as you tuned in to a show where the host had introduced a rising band with a familiar pink robot.  _ ‘Mettaton sure is getting popular with humans now,’ _ you thought to yourself as you settled down.  _ ‘I remember last year only monsters really liked him…’ _

As you ate your chips, you absently watched tv and did the homework that had been assigned to you. Luckily, it only took an hour and a half for you to finish and by then, you had already finished your chips and were merely watching tv. You still had about three hours to go before you needed to get ready so you decided to catch up on sleep.  _ ‘This time I won’t wake up late…’ _

Thankfully, you had been right and you woke up a little after five. Slowly, you got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready. You brushed your teeth again and brushed your hair out, making sure to get out all the tangles.

_ ‘I think I’ll just wear the same dress that I wore to school,’ _ you thought to yourself as you picked the dress up and slipped it on.  _ ‘But I’ll wear different flats… Dark blue flats do  _ not _ go with this outfit!’ _

You grabbed your coat before heading out the door, locking it behind you. After a quick glance at your phone, you head down the street to where Toriel and Frisks’ house was. It wasn’t as quiet as it had been yesterday and you were thankful for that- it felt unnatural when there wasn’t something going on.

The walk to Toriel’s house had only taken you about ten minutes and you had to smile when you saw their house. It was larger than yours with a good sized yard and a large tree that stood at the side with a tire swing on it. The sight reminded you of your childhood home- you had the same thing in the front of your old house.

As you walked through the gate, you felt the familiar twist in your belly and you could feel your hands begin to shake. You forced yourself to take deep, calming, breaths, telling yourself that everything was okay and that you already knew who was going to be there.

Once you somewhat calmed down you, you shakily knocked on the door and waited for whoever to answer it. Faintly, you heard the sound of feet running to the door before it opened and Frisk jumped out, hugging you tightly. You winced at the ache in your rips but forced yourself to ignore it and instead hug the small child back.

“He-hello, Frisk,” you said happily, pulling back with shining eyes. “It’s good to see you! Has everything been okay, today?”

**‘Yes! Mom let me stay home today and help her make pie,’** Frisk signed, beaming. **‘It came out really good!’** They grabbed your hand before pulling you into the house, shutting the door behind you. You looked around with a smile, admiring the beautiful paintings on the wall and peaceful atmosphere the house had.

It felt like a true home.

Frisk giggled at your reaction before pulling you to where Toriel was cooking and where the wonderful scents were coming from.

“Oh there you are, _____,” Toriel greeted happily as she pulled you into a hug. She glanced down at Frisk in amusement, ruffling their hair lovingly. “I see Frisk managed to find you! Have they shown you around yet?”

“Not yet,” the words barely left your lips when Frisk tightened their grip on your hand and pulled you back out of the kitchen, Toriel’s laugh following you. A soft laugh left your lips at the child’s eagerness and you let them lead you around.

They first showed you the downstairs bathroom before leading you up the stairs and to the second floor. Frisk showed you the two guest rooms, Toriel’s room, their room (which your child self would have died for), and the upstairs bathroom. Once you finished the upstairs tour, they brought you back down and showed you the dining room, the library, and finally the living room where an animated film played.

Your eyes brightened in happiness when you saw that it was one of your favorite Studio Ghibli films, _Spirited away._ **‘I see you have a great taste in movies,’** You signed to Frisk with a large grin. **‘You’re being raised well!’**

**‘My friend Alphys showed me the movie,’** Frisk signed back quickly, hands shaking in excitement.  **‘You have to meet her one day- you’d love her!’**

You gave them a nervous laugh but agreed anyway, deciding that you didn’t want to hurt the child’s feeling by refusing. Just as you were about to say something, Toriel poked her head in to say that dinner was ready.

Frisk grabbed your hand excitedly and pulled you into the dining room, sitting you down before rushing off to help Toriel with the food. You could only watch as they carried in three trays- one that held chicken, another held vegetables, and the last one held slices of bread.

Once everything was situated on the table, Frisk and Toriel took their seats before you all began to eat. You ate slowly, savoring the delicious food that Toriel made.

It reminded you of your mother’s cooking.

“Th-this is really good, Toriel,” You complemented with a smile. “I’ve ne-never been able to make food as good as this!”

“Well thank you, my dear! That’s very sweet of you,” Toriel beamed before a look of curiosity crossed her face. “So, _____, what school do you go to?”

“I go to th-the art school only a few miles from here,” you said softly, looking up from your food to meet Toriel’s eyes. “It’s a very nice school for its location… I believe it got fourth place for th-the best art schools in th-the country…”

“What are you going to school to become? If you don’t mind me asking…”

“Composer,” you admitted hesitantly. For a moment, you wondered if she would laugh at your choice like many people did after you told them. Your fears were silenced when you saw the excitement in Toriel’s eyes.

“A composer- how exciting!” Toriel beamed, “what instruments do you specialize in?”

“I mainly play th-the piano but I can play th-the viola and clarinet,” you began, sitting up straighter as you began to gain confidence. You were surprised- it usually took you hours (or days depending on the circumstances) to get comfortable and relax but it had only taken about half an hour.   _ ‘It must be Toriel,’ _ you thought to yourself. She just had that warm and inviting vibe that let you lower your guard and calm your anxiety.

The rest of dinner went by calmly with the three of you chatting happily. You had learned that Toriel worked at the local bookstore but was attending online college in order to become an elementary teacher. She had always wanted to be teacher when she was underground and when the monsters were freed, she knew it was the perfect opportunity to pursue her dream.

You had also learned that Frisk was in second grade and was the top student in their class- something that made Toriel’s chest puff out in pride. What you were shocked to learn was that it was Frisk who had removed the barrier. Sure, you knew that it had been a human child but you hadn’t guessed that it was Frisk- they seemed so innocent!

“You must be very brave,” you had told Frisk which made them beam in their seat. Once the three of you finished dinner, you had insisted on helping with dishes. But in order for them to agree, you had to promise them that you would stay for a movie and slice of pie.

_ ‘Seems like a fair trade,’ _ you thought to yourself as you agreed before busying yourself with the dishes. You chatted quietly with Toriel as the two of you washed the dishes while Frisk picked out a movie.

“I’m curious, _____, and I hope I am not being rude by asking but why’d you learn sign language?” Toriel asked. You paused, biting you lip and debating on what to tell her but when you saw the true kindness and curiosity in her eyes, you couldn’t lie.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed th-the stutter I have,” you began hesitantly. “We-well.... Wh-when I was younger I used to get bullied a lot for it and… I th-thought th-they would stop if I stopped speaking and instead signed… Didn’t work out how I hoped. Now I mostly sign wh-when th-the person I’m speaking to does.”

“I’m sorry for asking, my dear,” Toriel apologized, her eyes lowered in remorse. “I hope I haven’t awoken any lingering memories…”

“It’s fine…” You told her with a strained smile before quickly finishing the dishes. Once you finished, Toriel shooed you to the living room to start the movie with Frisk while she got out the pie. 

Frisk waved happily to you once they noticed you enter and they patted the seat next to them for you to sit. You got comfortable as the movie began and you were thrilled to see that it was another Studio Ghibli- Ponyo.

The movie had just started when Toriel appeared with three plates of pie that smelled wonderfully like cinnamon and butterscotch. “I didn’t know which to choose so I simply combined it,” she told you happily. You simply smiled and took a bite, nearly moaning at how well it tasted.

“Th-this is  _ really  _ good!” You complemented before Frisk shushed you and signed for you to pay attention. An amused look was shared between Toriel and you before you turned to watch the movie.

Before you knew it, the credits were rolling and Frisk had fallen asleep on your shoulder. With Toriel’s help, you managed to get up and lay Frisk on the couch in a way where they wouldn’t notice your absence.

“Th-thank you for dinner, Toriel,” you said as you shrugged on your shoulder, containing your pained wince at the ache in your ribs. You hadn’t noticed it at dinner and guessed that sitting down for so long bothered the fragile bones. “Th-the food was great and so was the conversation…” You hoped it sounded less awkward to her then it did to yourself.

“You’re a wonderful guest- you should come to dinner again,” Toriel told you kindly. You opened the door and were about to say your goodbyes when Toriel stopped you. “Would you like for me to walk you home or borrow a flashlight? It is rather dark…”

“I don’t want to bother you,” You shook your head. “Th-the moon is really bright tonight so I don’t think I need to borrow one. Th-thank you for the offer… I’ll see you soon!”

“If you’re sure… Have a goodnight, _____!” Toriel gave you a small wave before closing the door. As soon as you stepped out of the property, it occurred to you what you had said and you realized just how dark it was. You could feel the familiar twist in your belly along with fear as you glanced down the creepily dark streets.

_‘It’s only a ten minute walk from home_ ,’ You told yourself, trying to calm your anxiety. _‘Hardly anyone is out at this time of night so I have nothing to worry about… I’ll be home before I know it!’_

As quickly as you could, you walked down the street to your house, trying to ignore the feeling of eyes following you. You twisted your fingers in your anxiety, trying to focus on the feeling rather than your fear.

_ ‘See! You had nothing to fear! You’re almost home,’ _ You told yourself as you saw that you were only a few houses from where your home sat. A sigh of relief had just left your lips when you heard the sound of footsteps behind you. You froze in your spot, feeling your breaths coming quicker and quicker before your instincts kicked in and you ran as quickly as you could to your house.

After struggling to slide the key into lock, you managed to force it in before you stepped in and slammed the door behind you. Your breath was coming in pants, your hands shaking uncontrollably as you attempted to catch your breath. Quietly, you peaked through your window for a sign of whoever had been following you but you say nothing except a few fallen leaves floating along with the breeze.

_ ‘I probably just overreacted,’ _ you told yourself as you gained control of your body and headed to your room. You quickly changed into your comfortable pajamas and looked out the window again, still seeing nothing.  _ ‘Yeah… Just an overreaction…’ _

Still, you checked all windows and doors to make sure they were locked and you made sure the knife you under your mattress was there. Only when you felt slightly reassured, did you fall asleep.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Sans finally came in! For like a few paragraphs... Sorry... He'll be in the next one for longer, I promise!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Helpless

The sun had settled nicely in the sky when you awoke to the sound of loud music blasting through the speakers of your alarm. You grumbled under your breath as you forced yourself out of bed and hobbled to your alarm to turn it off. A soft sigh left your lips as the music stopped blasting in your ears and left you with a peaceful silence. The peace that you felt quickly left you as you remembered what day it was and your belly quickly began to twist with anxiety.

Today was the day of the festival and you couldn’t remember the last time you felt as anxious and terrified as you did. Luckily, you had been chosen to perform last and you had plenty of time to get ready and take you mind away from what was to come. As you went around you daily morning routine, you tried your best to forget about your performance but nothing you did could get it off your mind.

You knew it was hopeless to try to eat breakfast, knowing that it would only cause your stomach to be more upset. Instead, you drank a glass of Golden Flower tea- something Toriel had gotten you- and tried to calm your nerves. A quick glance at the clock told you that you had hours to go before getting ready and you decided to make use of your time.

Quickly, you went to your room and retrieved your gardening tools before heading outside to finish your work. Your carnations were thankfully still healthy and were beaming at the early sun lighting their petals. Next to your unplanted carnations were lovely golden flowers that were from the underground- also given to you by Toriel as a gift. She had noticed your blooming garden and insisted that you needed some to brighten your garden.

You had been pleasantly surprised by their wonderful aroma and the life they seemed to give your garden. With a sigh, you lowered yourself to the ground and began to make holes for the remaining carnations. It took you an hour to finish and by the time the last carnation was planted, you had dirt across your cheeks and in your fingernails.

_‘Hmmm… Where to put the golden flowers,’_ You thought to yourself as you stood, looking around for a perfect spot to put them. After minutes of debating, you decided on putting them on either side of your front door and just below the windows. You hummed as you readied the soil and began to plant the beautiful flowers. It took you another hour and a half to plant them on each side of your door, just under the windows. By the time you finished, you heard the sound of a car pulling up your small driveway.

You quickly wiped the dirt off your hands and turned to see a familiar set of bright eyes that could only belong to Anna. Like expected, she was already dressed for the festival, wearing a pretty dress and sandals. She waved happily at you as she got out of the car and greeted you with a hug.

“It’s good to see you out of class, _____!” Anna said happily as she pulled back from the hug before looking over your dirted state. She looked away from you and looked at the flowers you had been planting with a smile. “You’re garden is coming along so well!”

“Th-thank you,” you beamed as you lead Anna into your house and into your living room. You told her she could watch tv as you showered, promising that you wouldn’t take long. Though you tried to stick to your promise, you ended up taking longer than you wanted since you wanted to be sure that you left no dirt on your body.

As you stepped out of the shower, you breathed in the warm steam that entered the room due to the hot liquid. You enjoyed the remaining heat before drying off and heading to your room to change. After a few minutes of debating, you settled on a pretty long blue dress and a pair of comfortable flats. Once you were dressed, you put your sheet music neatly into your bag along with a pair of clothes to change into. You didn’t want to risk walking around the festival and ruining the dress.

Quickly, you brushed your hair and pinned it to your liking before making your way to the living room to where Anna sat. She didn’t notice your approach and instead focussing her attention on the show playing- some anime featuring a girl with pink hair.

“Re-ready?” You asked, grinning in amusement when you saw her jump. She glanced longingly at the tv before nodding her head and following you out the door. After you locked the door, you joined her in her car and soon began your short ride to the festival.

You two talked quietly as she drove, debating on what to do first after she finishing presenting her painting and after you performed. “So you excited?” Anna asked once she had parked her car and you two began to make your way to the entrance of the festival.

“Excited isn’t th-the word I would use to describe wh-what I’m feeling,” you admit sheepishly, a nervous smile accompanying what you were feeling. “Terrified is probably th-the best word…”

“Well you’ll do great!” She beamed, “You’re one of the best pianists I know and I’m positive you’re going to blow the judges away!”

“Th-thank you, Anna…” You smiled at her, “I wish I could see you pre-present your painting but I begin to play just as you start to pre-present.”

Anna nodded her head in agreement, “see ya soon!” She waved goodbye before heading off in the opposite direction. You watched for a moment before glancing down at your phone and seeing that you had about twenty minutes until you performed. As soon as you saw the time, you could feel the familiar twist and felt your hands begin to shake.

You did your best to ignore your trembling hands as you hurried to the auditorium, weaving through people exploring the festival. Within minutes, you made it to the auditorium and entered the building through the back entrance. The beautiful playing of the piano met you as you entered and you shut the door as quietly as you could, not wanting to do anything to interrupt the performance.

You only moved when the piece ended and you hurried to the dressing room, checking to see that you had fifteen minutes to go. Even though your hands shook, you did your best to fix your hair and adjust your dress. With ten minutes to go, you left your coat and bag in the dressing room and went to wait by the backstage with your music.

As you waited for the next performance to begin so you could begin yours, you saw Professor Sylvia hurry towards you. “You’re on after this,” she murmured into your ear. “As soon as they finish, you go and get situated. I will tell you when you can start.”

“Got it,” You nod your head. She must have noticed the trembling in your hands since she gave you a comforting smile before she hurried to the other side of the backstage. You tried to calm your racing heart as you waited for the performance to end, barely resisting the urge to bunch the fabric of your dress in yours hands. Only a few minutes passed before you heard the song come to an end and the audience clapping.

You watched as the pianist walked out, whispering encouragement to you before they hurried to Professor Sylvia's side. After a few seconds of you trying to calm your breathing, you shakily made your way to the stage. You trembled as you forced yourself to look out to the crowd and give them an anxious smile.

Just as you sat down, you heard someone announce your name and what you were going to play. As you readied your sheet music, you did your best to ignore the audience staring at you and tried to ignore the trembling in your hands. You steadied your breathing the best you could and shifted uncomfortably at the twisting in your belly.

A signal from your professor told you that you could begin and you acknowledged her with a small nod. Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and gently laid your hands on the piano keys before you began to play. You flinched when you immediately hit the wrong key and you pulled your shaking hands away from the keys.

Your heart pounded in your chest and you could feel tears gather in the corner of your eyes until you told yourself to relax and try again. You took deep, calming breaths before you tried to play again, this time being successful.

Your fingers flew across the keys as you played the music you remembered by heart, letting yourself get lost in the music. The world faded around as everything was lost to you until the beautiful music was all that was in your head. For a moment, you could tell that you were going a bit faster than you were supposed to but you couldn’t afford to slow down. If you did, your mistake would be more obvious and you didn’t want to risk it.

You were halfway through the song when you were finally able to open your eyes without fear of freaking out. Music had always had that effect on you- making you calm when nothing else could. A smile crossed your lips when you finished, surprised that you liked your performance as much as you did.

Sadly, as soon as you stood up and bowed to the applauding audience, you felt your anxiety come back at full force. It took all your strength not to sprint backstage and to merely walk- albeit a little awkwardly- to where you came from. Professor Sylvia praised you once you came back, proud of your performance and saying it was the best piece she’s ever heard you play.

“I’m very impressed with your performance today, _____,” she said happily, causing a bright blush to cover your cheeks. “I look forward to hearing your next performance… Now go and enjoy the festival! Results will be posed Monday morning!”

You nodded your head and bid her farewell before hurrying to the dressing room where you had put your stuff. Quickly, you shed your dress and slipped on the jeans and tee that you had packed. Once you finished, you put your dress back into your bag (along with your sheet music) and headed out the building where you promised to meet Anna.

“How was the performance?” Anna asked excitedly as she saw you approach. “I bet it was great!”

“I th-think it went very well- or it did after my mess up,” you told her happily, beaming as you repeated what your professor had said to you. “I th-think it was th-the kindest th-thing she has ever said to me…”

“I knew you would do great,” she laughed happily. “You ready to start exploring?” You nodded your head and the two of your began to make your way through the festival. At every booth, you stopped and looked over the pieces the students had made. Some were contests and you voted on favorites while others were auctions.

Only Anna joined the auctions, excitedly going after a painting of a mother bear protecting her cubs. She one by a few dollars, her competitors giving up once the price began to rang in the hundreds. You snorted in amusement when you saw her barely hold back a squeak of excitement as she went and left her information with the artist so they could send receive the money and send it to her.

“Are you going to buy anything?” Anna asked curiously as you looked over paintings of the night sky. You merely hummed and continued looking at the paintings, seeing if anything caught your interest enough for you to buy. Just as you were about to leave, something finally caught your eyes. It was a simple painting of a single golden flower, closed and looking small against the starry background. After only a moment of debating, you paid for the painting (thankfully, this one wasn’t in an auction) and gave them your school information so they could send it to your first period.

“Hmm… It’s getting close to when the singers are supposed to perform,” Anna began, glancing down at her watch. “Want to grab something to eat before heading over to listen to them? I believe Mae is going to be singing!”

You nodded your head and followed Anna to where the cluster of food carts rested under the shade of the college buildings. Anna and you looked around, trying to decide on what cart to go to before you both decided on a hamburger. It seemed many others had the same idea since a line had formed by the time you decided on what to eat.

“At this rate, we’re going to miss the opening songs,” Anna groaned, glaring at the line that didn’t seem to be moving. “I think they were going to open with songs from Jekyll and Hyde!”

You glanced at the long line before turning to Anna, “wh-why don’t you go and get us a spot? I’ll wait in line and buy us our hamburgers.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to you to miss the opening…”

“It’s fine,” you waved it aside. After a few more moments of arguing with Anna, she finally gave up and accepted the offer. She gave you her money and what she wanted before going off to listen to the music that was to begin shortly.

You’re eyes trailed after her for a few moments before you turned your gaze away and instead looked up at the cloudy sky. It really was a nice day for a festival, with the gentle breeze and fluffy clouds that blocked the sun from beaming down. As you gazed up at the clouds and passing birds, you blocked everything from around you and almost fell over when you felt a small yet strong body crash into your side.

Quick as you could, you regained your balance and glanced down to see Frisk hugging you closely with a happy smile across their face. “Frisk?” You blinked in surprise before you hugged them back, “wh-what are you doing here?”

**‘Mom convinced Sans and Papyrus to bring me to the festival since she had a last minute meeting with Asgore,’** Frisk signed quickly but they only managed to confuse you. Who was Sans and Papyrus? Asgore? The name sounded oddly familiar but you couldn’t put a face to the name. **‘I’m so glad she did! I got to hear you play and it sounded so pretty!’**

You blushed a deep scarlet and you managed to stutter out a thank you before you realized that you couldn’t see who was supposed to be watching over Frisk. “Wh-where are your uh… guardians?” You asked unsurely, glancing down at Frisk who just seemed to notice that they couldn’t see them.

**‘I don’t see them,’** Frisk glanced at you worryingly. **‘I may or may not have left them at an auction to go find you…’**

For a moment, you could only stare at Frisk in disbelief before a chuckle left your lips and you extended your hand for them to grab. “Well th-then we should probably go search for uh Sans and Papyrus before th-they begin to panic… What do th-they look like?”

**‘Papyrus is really tall while Sans is short!’** You give them a look, prodding them to say more since what they signed wasn’t much of a description. **‘They’re brothers… And they’re both skeletons!”**

You’re reminded of the skeleton that you crashed into a week prior and you wondered if he was one of the people Frisk mentioned. “Do you remember wh-what auction?” You asked but Frisk merely shook their head. You let out a soft sigh before nodding your head and heading in the direction where Frisk had came from. As you walked, you sent a quick text to Anna that partially explained the situation and you hoped she wouldn’t be upset.

The two of you continued through the festival but found no sight of the two skeletons, much to your surprise. Usually monsters stuck out in a crowd of humans since most of them avoided each other.

_‘It’s different here I guess,’_ you thought to yourself as you saw a few monsters intertwined in the crowd of humans, talking to one another pleasantly. _‘This college is one of the few that accept both human and monster students…’_

Frisk suddenly stopped and tugged at your hand, causing you to glance down at them and see them pointing excitedly in front of you. You glanced ahead and saw what looked like a tall skeleton looking under tables with worry. Another skeleton, shorter than the other one, leaned against a table and simply watched the other with a lazy grin. With a start, you realize that he was the same one you had crashed into a week prior and you could already feel your skin begin to heat up.

**‘There’s Sans and Papyrus,’** Frisk signed quickly before pulling you to where the two skeletons were. Just as the two of you were a few feet away from them, they both turned to look at you both. Frisk let go of your hand and ran over to where the tall one (Papyrus, you think) had jumped to.

“FRISK! I KNEW YOU COULDN’T STAY AWAY FROM I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, FOR TOO LONG!” He shouted happily as he picked Frisk up in a hug. For a moment, you wondered how Frisk could still hear with him shouting in their ear before you caught the eye of the shorter skeleton.

“You okay, buddy? You’re looking a little red,” the skeleton commented, his words traced in amusement.

“I’m fine,” you murmured, feeling your cheeks burn even more. For a moment, you wished you could sink into the ground and disappear instead of feel the embarrassment that came off you in waves. _‘If I just apologize for last week I’ll stop feeling so embarrassed,’_ You thought to yourself as just as you were about to, he spoke.

“You sure you’re not running a femur?”

“No, I’m oka-” You stopped yourself when you heard Papyrus shout in frustration, causing you to look over at him in alarm.

“SANS! YOU JUST RUINED OUR CHANCE TO BE FRIENDS WITH THE HUMAN WITH YOUR PUNS!” Papyrus shouted, glaring at the smug skeleton. “HUMAN, I APOLOGIZE FOR MY BROTHER’S TERRIBLE PUNS!”

You could only stare in confusion, looking to and from both skeletons before what Sans (you assumed) finally clicked.

Oh god it was such a cheesy pun.

You tried to contain it but once it clicked, you couldn’t stop the soft giggles that left you, much to Papyrus’ horror. Frisk was silently giggling beside you and quickly signed to you, **‘Papyrus likes to pretend that he hates Sans’ puns but he loves them! He won’t admit it though… I’m glad you like them too!”**

**‘Who doesn’t like a good pun?’** You sign back after you finish giggling and you look up at Papyrus shyly. You hesitate for a moment before murmuring, “you don’t have to apologize for your brother… Th-the pun was actually quite humerus!”

Papyrus merely shouts as if the pun wounded him and glared at his brother as if blaming him for your puns.

“Ah Papyrus there’s no need to punish me with that glare!”

“I’M DONE WITH YOU!” Papyrus proceeded to ignore his brother and instead turned to look at you. “I CAN FORGIVE YOU FOR YOUR PUN SINCE YOU BROUGHT FRISK BACK! I, AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

“It’s nice to meet you,” you gave him a shy smile as you told him your name. You shakily held your hand out and he quickly grasped it, shaking it excitedly much to your hand’s horror. You're surprised by his excitement and enthusiasm but quickly recover.

“IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU TOO, HUMAN!” Papyrus somehow managed to grin larger as he introduced his brother. “AND THE LAZY BONES WHO HASN’T INTRODUCED HIMSELF YET IS, SANS! I CAN ALREADY TELL THAT WE’RE GOING TO BE GREAT FRIENDS!”

“I look forward to it,” you smile up at him before looking down at your phone to see that Anna had texted back and asked if everything was okay. “It was nice talking to you but I really need to get to th-the stage wh-where th-the choir is singing…”

“Whaddya know? We were just gonna head over there after finding Frisk,” Sans said before you could begin to move. He pushed himself off the table, almost reluctantly, and gave you a lazy grin. “Why don’t we walk with ya?”

You pause for a moment before nodding your head, not seeing the problem with having them walk with you. If Toriel trusted them with Frisk, then you knew there could be nothing evil with them. Frisk beamed happily and hurried to your side, grabbing your hand in one of theirs and pulling you along.

You had only been walking for a few minutes before noticed Sans at your side and that he was looking at you curiously. For a moment, you debated on what to say before you let out a soft sigh and murmured, “uh, Sans? I’m sorry for crashing into you th-the other week… And for not apologizing th-that well… If it didn’t seem sincere th-then I apologize… I was rushing to school and didn’t pay attention to-”

“Hey, buddy, it’s okay,” Sans said with a chuckle,“it’s not like you hurt these old bones.”

You looked over to him in confusion before you realized you had been rambling and you looked away with an embarrassed laugh. “Wh-what were you doing at my house anyways?” You ask curiously, remembering the question that had been going through your head for a few days after the encounter.

“Just wanted to see the person who saved Frisk,” he shrugged. “Toriel told me where you lived and I just wanted to give a face to the name.” You merely hummed in response before turning your attention to where you were walking, only for Sans to continue talking. “We heard your performance earlier by the way… It sounded pretty good. I don’t think I could ever play that fast.”

“Do you play the piano?” You asked curiously. You didn’t see him as a piano person, more like someone who played a brass instrument. Maybe a trumpet or trombone… Suddenly you notice the grin on his face and you wondered if you just set yourself up for something.

  
“Nah, piano is not my forte,” his grin widens when you you giggle loudly, trying to cover it up with a cough.

“That was great,” you grin before noticing that the four of you had made it to where the choir was singing. You saw that they had just finished singing The Phantom of the Opera and were now beginning to sing modern music.

“Well I need to go find my friend, Anna,” you said as you released Frisk’s hand, trying to ignore the pout they sent your way. “She’s probably worried th-that I haven’t replied yet…” You turned to look at both the skeletons and you smiled happily. “It was nice to meet you…” You paused, debating your next words before your worry aside as you continued. “Maybe we could um… I don’t know… Hang out or something?”

“THAT’S SOUNDS GREAT! WE SHOULD MAKE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI TO MAKE OUR FRIENDSHIP OFFICIAL,” Papyrus says excitedly. You tell him that you would love to before you exchange numbers with both brothers before Frisk hands you their phone and insists on getting your number.

After you had all exchanged numbers, you waved goodbye and hurried to find Anna who seemed to be hidden in the large crowd. Finally, you found her off to the side, looking around worryingly and tapping her foot.

“Sorry I’m so late,” you say as you get to her side and you jump when you saw the worry in her eyes. You wince and quickly begin to explain what happened, hoping that she would understand and not stay upset.

“You’re too kind, _____,” Anna laughs softly. “Well the choir is going to finish up soon since they only have two songs to go. Wanna leave and get some food in town? I’m suddenly hungry for pizza!”

You nod your head and go to follow Anna to her car when you catch the eye of Sans who gave you a lazy wave. With a smile, you wave goodbye and follow Anna without looking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel... or something."  
> ~EL James, 50 Shades of Grey
> 
> *Dies*
> 
> Thank you all for waiting patiently! I hope you enjoyed the chapter v(=∩_∩=)ﾌ


	5. Frisksitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Crawls out from under rock* Hiya! So uh I've finally decided to update... Like after three months. 
> 
> Sorry 'bout that!
> 
> Thank you to all who've waited (Especially my beta reader, love you) and I will try to improve how long it takes to update. I'm hoping about a week or so but uh...
> 
> Anyways, I hope ya'll enjoy the chapter :)

“I don’t th-think th-this is going to work,” you murmured to yourself, pulling away from the manuscript paper you were working on. A sigh left your lips as you ran your hands through your hair in frustration, tugging at the tangles in your hair. For the past hour you had been attempting to compose something and any inspiration that you had obtained washed away as soon as you pressed your pencil against the paper.

You grabbed your music theory textbook and flipped through the annotated examples of compositions that it offered. “Th-this vaguely makes sense,” you muttered as you set the book to the side and looked back at your paper. You impatiently erased the last few notes you had written and in your frustration, you managed to crumble and rip the paper. “You have got to be kidding me!”

With a hiss, you squashed the paper into a ball and threw it, watching as it bounced off the wall and landed a few feet away from you. You grumbled under your breath as you reached into your cabinet for another piece of manuscript paper, only to find that you had none. A groan left your lips and you let your head bang against the cold metal, finding comfort in the sensation of cold against your warm forehead.

For a few moments, you simply rested your eyes and took deep breaths as you attempted to calm and compose yourself. You knew you shouldn’t let your frustrations get the better of you, and usually you didn’t, but sometimes it was inevitable. Once you calmed your temper, you returned to your table and put your work away, knowing that if you tried to compose again you would get more frustrated . 

After you finished tidying up your table, you glance at the clock on the wall and saw that it was just past noon. Luckily, you had already planned to go into town for groceries and you guessed you better add manuscript paper to your already long list. Since moving into your house, you had always had a habit of not buying groceries until the last moment and you beginning to regret it. Usually it took you quite a while to buy only a few groceries but now that you had to basically resupply your home, it would take you forever.

“I might as we-well get re-ready,” you sigh to yourself, grabbing a change of clothes and heading into your shower. You had just stepped out of the shower when you heard you phone ring from your living room. Quickly, you wrapped yourself in a towel and hurried to pick up your phone, hoping that the water dripping from your body wouldn’t ruin the floor.

When you picked up your phone, you noticed it was Toriel who was calling and a small smile crossed your lips. You had seen both Toriel and Frisk quite a bit since the festival, always greeting them on your way to school and having a quick conversation. Toriel had invited you to dinner a few times (which you could never refuse) and Frisk had formed a habit of texting you in the middle of the night when they should’ve been sleeping. 

“Hello dear! I’m relieved that you picked up,” Toriel began before you could greet her. “I really do hope I’m not inconveniencing you but do you think Frisk could stay with you tonight? I’ve been called to attend a last minute meeting with the state’s governor and I won’t be home until late in the night- way past Frisk’s bedtime. Everyone is either too busy or to far away for me to drop Frisk off at. I would be very grateful if you could and I will even pay you!”

You were flattered that Toriel trusted you enough to ask you to watch over Frisk and you knew you couldn’t refuse the motherly monster. “I don’t mind watching Frisk, Toriel, but I do have to insist on not being paid,” you said before she could continue. You felt a twinge of pride at not having stuttered during your sentence and you prayed she wouldn’t insist on paying you. “Th-the only th-thing is th-that I have to go to th-the store so Frisk would ha-have to go with me.”

“Oh that is fine! I trust Frisk not to cause any trouble,” you could practically hear the relief in Toriel’s voice. “Thank you so much, dear! We’ll be over in ten minutes…”

“See you th-then, Toriel,” you hung up before hurrying to your room. You truely didn’t mind watching over the child though it did make you a bit anxious in the knowledge that Frisk was in your care. If anything happened to Frisk it would be your fault and knowing that made your belly twist uncomfortably. Luckily, you managed to push the feeling away as you quickly got dressed and pulled your hair up.

Just as you finished your hair, you heard a knock at your door and you hurried to open it. As soon as the door opened, a small body darted through the door and clung do your waist. A chuckle left your lips as you looked down at the small child and ruffled their brown hair. They pulled back with a large grin, quickly signing,

**‘I missed you!’**

“I can’t thank you enough, _____,” Toriel said her eyes met yours. She handed you a colorful duffle bag that had  _ ‘Frisk’ _ stitched across the side. “I’m very grateful that you’re willing to do this for me and on such short notice.”

“It’s not a problem,” you smiled. “Although I am a bit shocked th-that you trust me enough to have me watch over Frisk…”

“Why wouldn’t I? You have a very good soul,” Toriel smiled. You furrowed your brow and went to question her but before you could speak, she continued. “Anyways, Frisk’s bedtime is at 8 since they have school tomorrow and they usually wake up at 6. They aren’t allergic to anything but they aren’t too fond of anything with fish so I would avoid that. If you could walk them to their bus stop, I would appreciate it very much…”

“Of course!”

“Well, I need to be going,” Toriel quickly bent down to hug Frisk, kissing them on the forehead. “I will see you tomorrow, my child! Stay out of trouble and make sure to listen to whatever she says, okay? I love you!”

Frisk beams,  **‘I love you too, mom!’**

You give one last wave to Toriel as she heads to her car before you close the door and show Frisk to your guest room. As soon as you open the door, you wince at the amount of unpacked boxes you had leaning against the wall. Even though almost a month had passed, you had barely touched the room and still had many boxes to unpack. The boxes were mostly full of books but a few had your parents’ possessions.

“Sorry for all the boxes, I still ha-haven’t gotten to unpacking th-them,” you apologize as you place Frisk’s bag on the- thankfully- clean table. You glanced at the small bed sitting against the wall and decided that the bedding was clean since you had changed it only the week before.

**‘Maybe I can help you unpack them when we get back,’** Frisk signs excitedly before they set their backpack (that you had just barely noticed) beside the bed.

You smiled, “I would appreciate th-that…” Frisk merely beamed and you took their hand before leading them out of the house. “I hope you don’t mind but before we go to th-the grocery store, we ha-have to stop by th-the music store…”

You lock the door and head to the car, situating Frisk in the backseat (after they tried to convince you to let them sit in the front) and sitting yourself down. The ride to the music store was rather quiet as Frisk was absorbed in the music, mouthing the lyrics which you couldn't help but find adorable.

The music store was rather busy when you arrived and you frowned, wishing that you had picked a better time to go. You weren’t fond of crowds since they made you uncomfortable and you tried to avoid them when you were able. With a sigh, you got out of the car and helped Frisk out before the two of you entered the store. Frisk bounced around excitedly as they glanced at the rows of instruments, their brown eyes shining. 

You were about to wander to where you know they kept the manuscript paper but before you got far your eyes caught sight of a piano situated in the middle of the store. Taking Frisk’s hand, you led them over to the upright piano as you took in the sight. It looked very old- older than you had ever seen- but it looked to be in great condition. After checking to make sure you were allowed to touch it, you gently lapped a key and grinned at the beautiful ring it left.

“Th-they don’t make th-them like th-this anymore,” you sighed happily, glancing at Frisk’s confused face.

**‘But they still make these kind of pianos,’** Frisk signed in confusion.  **‘My teacher just bought one for music class…’**

“Oh I don’t mean the bra-brand, I mean  _ how _ th-they’re made,” you tried to explain. “Most are made in fa-factories instead of made by ha-hand. The ones made by ha-hand always ha-have a certain… Sound.” Unable to help it, you glanced at the price only to visibly wince and take a few steps back. “Th-the price reflects th-that… Well we better get wh-what we came for.”

Reluctantly, you walk away from the piano and to the far side of the building where they keep most of the sheet music and the books of manuscript paper. You had just found the books when Frisk suddenly let go of your hand and ran to where a nervous-looking yellow lizard-like monster stood.

“O-oh Frisk! I did-didn’t expect to see you here,” you heard the monster stay as Frisk hugged her tightly. After grabbing two books of the manuscript paper, you walked over to where the two stood. “Where’s Toriel?”

**‘She’s at a meeting- I’m with my neighbor, _____,’** Frisk signed happily and nodded over to you. The monster met your eyes nervously, twisting the fabric of her lab coat in her clawed hands as a soft blush adorned her cheeks.  **‘She’s the one who saved me, remember?’**

“Oh so y-you're the one who sa-saved them,” she sent you a shaky smile. “It’s nice to me-meet you, I’m Alphys.”

“_____,” you introduced yourself with a nervous smile before glancing to where she was looking and saw that it was the section of sheet music for pianos. You hesitated a moment before asking, “do you play th-the piano?”

“Oh I don’t… M-my uh gi-girlfriend does,” Alphys breathed out the last words softly, her blush darkening. “But I uh… I do-don’t know really know… Um which ones will work.”

You hesitated, glancing at Frisk who gave you an encouraging smile, before asking, “would you like me to he-help you?”

“Oh I-I don’t want to b-bother you,” Alphys began but you stopped her with a shake of your head and began to look through the books.

“Wh-what’s her skill level?” You asked, looking from the beginning books to the advanced. “Is she relatively knew to th-the piano or ha-has she been playing for a while?”

“Um… She’s been playing for a w-while?” You merely hummed before looking through the books. Most of the books contained classics from Beethoven, Bach, and the likes but you found a few containing music from movies and animes. 

“I would suggest getting th-this one,” you handed her a collection of Bach’s works, ranging in length and difficulty. “You can never go wrong with classics…” You glanced uncertainly at the book in your hands as it was sheet music from popular animes. “Does she like anime?”

Alphys’ eyes widened and she nodded quickly, “we both love anime! Does it have anything from Mew Mew: Kissy Cutie?”

Your eyes widened slightly at her sudden enthusiasm before you grinned and turned to the back to look at the songs. “Hmm… Ya, it has th-the first opener and th-the second ending. It also has songs for Angel Beats, Fullme-fullmetal Alchemist, and a couple other a-animes.”

“Undyne will love it,” Alphys beamed, accepting the book. She quickly scanned the back, her eyes brightening as she continued to examine the songs.

“Is uh… Mew Mew: Kissy Cutie any good? I’ve seen it advertised but I’ve ne-never actually seen it…”

“It’s the best! The plot is really intricate and the characters have great development! The romance isn’t rushed and it’s just… It’s great,” Alphys suddenly blushed as she realized that she had been rambling. “Th-the sequel isn’t that go-good though… Do… Do you like anime?”

You nod her head, “I try to watch some wh-whenever I can. I don’t usually keep track of wh-what’s popular th-though…”

Alphys looked hesitant before she meekly suggested, “you should c-come over sometime and watch Mew Mew: Kissy Cutie with me and um Undyne. Th-that’s my girlfriend…”

“Th-that sounds fun…” After a few minutes of setting up a time, you exchanged numbers with Alphys. Seeing that Frisk looked to be getting bored, you both said goodbye to Alphys and promised to see her soon. As soon as you bought your manuscript paper (which you almost forgot), you and Frisk headed to the grocery store. You almost groaned when you thought about shopping- it was going to take you both forever.  _ ‘At least I’m not alone,’ _ you thought as you glanced behind you to look at Frisk who had resumed ‘singing’.  _ ‘Hopefully we can get in and out without being in there for too long…’ _

 

* * *

It was almost dark by the time you and Frisk arrived back at your home. Your trip, to your annoyance, had taken much longer than you had wanted. You had forgotten your shopping list at home and couldn’t remember all that you needed. It took you forever to find what you could remember that you needed, having to constantly go back and forth. Still, you were almost positive that you hadn’t bought everything and that you would need to go back before the next week ended.

Frisk, thankfully, didn’t seem to mind how long it took and followed you patiently through the store. They had behaved well and the only problem you had was how they had flirted with the cashier, causing you to blush when they had asked for you to translate. The cashier had, thankfully, shaken it off and you swore that you couldn’t remember the last time you had been so embarrassed.

After countless trips from your car and into your house, you managed to put all your groceries on your table and floor. “Would you like pizza, Frisk?” You asked, glancing over to where Frisk sat and watched cartoons. They turned to look at you and nodded their head happily, signing that they would like pepperoni.

You hurried over to where your laptop was and found the site for your local pizza place, placing an order and seeing that it should arrive in half an hour.  _ ‘That give me enough time to put the groceries away,’ _ you thought to yourself before beginning the long process of putting everything away. Just when you finished putting everything away, you heard your doorbell ring and you hurried to answer it.

As expected, it was the pizza boy and you quickly paid him for the food as well as a decent tip for driving all the way out to your house. What surprised you was the dirty look he sent your way before stalking to his car, muttering about how he couldn’t understand how you could stand living by monsters. You frowned at him, telling yourself that you shouldn’t have given him the tip that you did.

**‘What’s wrong?’** You were greeted by Frisk’s signing as you turned around, seeing the concern on their young face. **‘You look upset…’**

“Oh it’s fine, Frisk… Just a rude boy,” you give them a reassuring smile before ushering them to the kitchen. It was rather quiet as the two of you ate as Frisk was too busy eating to sign and you were lost in your thoughts. By the time Frisk had finished, you were only on your second piece and you let them go back watching cartoons.

You finished soon after and put the remaining pizza back into your fridge before wandering over to where Frisk sat. Just you started to sit, Frisk jumped to their feet and quickly signed,  **‘can we go unpack your boxes now?’**

“Oh right… Sure,” you pushed yourself back and let Frisk lead you back into your guest bedroom. You made sure their bags were not in the way before grabbing one of the boxes and opening it to see they were books. “Let’s find all th-the books first so we can put them on the shelves…”

Slowly but surely the two of you managed to locate all the books and put them into alphabetical order (took you longer than you liked to admit) and had placed them on the shelves that lined one wall. Once you finished that, you opened the remaining boxes to see they were mostly your parents random nicknacks and you began to place them around your house (mostly the living room and guest bedroom) with Frisk’s help. The last thing you put away where your parents old coats- something you couldn’t get yourself to part with- when you noticed that Frisk was beginning to get sleepy.

You looked at the clock and saw it was a little past eight, causing you to wince and hope Toriel wouldn’t be upset. “Okay I th-think it’s time you head to bed, Frisk,” you told the child, ushering them away from the sealed box and to the bathroom with their bag. They look at you with a pout but do as their told, causing you to chuckle lightly.

A few minutes pass when Frisk comes out of the bathroom, dressed in their pajamas that, to your amusement, had little bones scattered everywhere. “Alright, it’s time for you to sleep,” you usher them into the bedroom and tuck them into bed. “Do you ne-need anyth-thing? Water? Night light?”

**‘Water, please,’** they sign to you and you hurry to the kitchen to get them a glass. When you returned, they had already snuggled into the blankets. They peeked up at you before quickly signing,  **‘thank you for taking care of me, _____. Goodnight…’**

“Goodnight, Frisk. Sleep well,” you ruffle their hair gently, resting the glass on the nightstand before leaving the room. A soft sigh left your lips as you closed the door and entered your own room, changing into your own pajamas. You settled yourself on your bed, grabbing your Music theory textbook and finishing the reading that you should have done a day ago.

After finishing the section, you decided to keep reading and before you knew it, hours had passed. You winced as you stood up and stretched your sore muscles that protested the change in position.  _ ‘I better turn all the lights off,’ _ you thought to yourself as you quietly left your room and turned off the lights in the kitchen and living room. Just as you were about to go back to your room, you paused and poked a head into your guest room to check on Frisk.

Luckily, the child was sleeping peacefully, strands of hair covering your face as they slept with their mouth open. For a moment, you couldn’t believe that this sweet, innocent child was the one who braved the underground alone and set the monsters free. They were so innocent, so childlike that it was easy to forget that they had done so much in their short life.

With one last look, you quietly shut the door and returned to your own room, turning the light off and snuggling into your blankets. Just as you started to drift off, you heard a soft but beautiful melody play in your head, helping you drift off to sleep.

 

* * *

It only felt like you were asleep for a few minutes when you felt a bundle of energy suddenly jump on you. You grunted as you slowly woke up and blinked awake, turning around to see a wide-awake Frisk jumping on your bed.

“Goodmorning to you too, Frisk,” you yawned as you sat up, stretching your sore muscles. “Wh-what time is it?”

**‘6:30,’** Frisk signs happily. You look at them in surprise before you slowly push yourself up and stand up.

“I guess you want breakfast, huh?” You ask and receive a nod from them. “Okay well wh-why don’t you go take a shower wh-while I make you some breakfast?” Frisk simply nodded their head and hurried to the bathroom.

For a few moments, you simply stretched your arms before wobbling to your kitchen. After a few moments of debating, you decided on eggs and bacon and began to cook. You hummed softly as you cooked, not knowing what melody you were humming but finding it quite pretty.

_ ‘I’m going to have to write this down,’ _ you thought to yourself as you finished making enough bacon for Frisk and you. You had just started on eggs when Frisk walked in, their hair poofy after having dried it. A snort left you at the sight of their frizzy hair, unbrushed and filled with tangles.

“Enjoy,” you said as you placed the plate in front of Frisk before making your own food. Like before, Frisk finished before you and went to watch cartoons before you would walk them to the bus stop. When you finished, you glanced over to Frisk who was enthralled in a show about colorful dancing people. 

“Hey Frisk, wh-what do you usually do for lunch?” You ask, worried that maybe Toriel made them lunch and they wouldn’t have any since they were staying for lunch.

Frisk paused before looking up at you and answering,  **‘usually mom makes me lunch but… I guess I can just buy school lunch.’**

Your face scrunches up at the notion, remembering how bad your school lunch was when you went to highschool. With that in mind, you grabbed a brown sack back and began to put food in it- leftover pizza, cut up celery, a cookie, and juice. You hoped it was okay and you quickly taped it shut.

“I’m going to get ready so see you in a few,” you told Frisk, noticing that you had about an hour to get ready. You showered and changed into something warm, already feeling the fall chill. You grabbed your backpack and phone before heading to your living room to see Frisk still watching the show. As you finished getting ready, you noticed Frisk leave to the guest bedroom to brush their hair and grab their own bag.

Glancing at the clock, you noticed it was about time to walk Frisk to the busstop and you began to turn off all the lights. When Frisk walked back in, you handed them their sack lunch with a small smile. “So you don’t ha-have to eat th-the gross lunch food… If it’s anything like my schools, it tastes like cardboard.”

**‘You’re the best,’** Frisk beamed and put the lunch in their backpack. You took their hand and lead them out of the house, locking the door behind you and leading Frisk to their bus stop.  **‘I’m really glad you agreed to watch me… I had a lot of fun!’**

“Well you were a pleasure to watch,” you smiled, ruffling their hair. You got to the busstop and saw that there was another kid there. He was a yellow monster (he reminded you of a dinosaur) in a striped sweater and looked to have no arms. His eyes lit up when he spotted Frisk and he hurried to their side. The kid didn’t get far when he suddenly tripped and fell, landing on his face and causing you to jump and almost run to help him up when he managed to somehow get up himself.

“Yo! Frisk, do I have a story to tell you,” he greeted happily before he blinked slowly, finally noticing you. “Uh… hello human lady dude…” He leaned in close to Frisk, as if about to tell them a secret. “Dude, I don’t think that’s your mom…”

Frisk giggled,  **‘that isn’t my mom, MK, it’s our neighbor! I don’t think you’ve met her yet but she’s really nice.’**

“Oh… I knew that,” the monster, you guessed his name was MK, muttered. He turned to you with a hesitant smile, “I’m Monster Kid but everybody just calls me MK!”

You told them your name before glancing at the time, noticing that it was nearly time for you to head to school. “Well I’ll see you two later,” you ruffled Frisk’s hair. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Frisk nodded before hugging you, causing you to blush and hug them back. With a finale hug, you said your goodbye to the children and hurried to your car. After checking to make sure your house was locked, you hurried into your car and started to drive to your college. Unlike usual, you didn’t put any music on and instead you hummed the melody that had been stuck in your head since the day before.

_ ‘I’m going to have to write this down,’ _ you thought, your eyes brightening. You arrived at school quickly and parked before hurrying to your first class. Luckily, you were pretty early to class and were able to find a nice seat in the middle. Slowly, more students trickled in and class started before you knew it.

“Good morning class! I hope you’ve had a good weekend,” Professor Sylvia began as she entered the quiet classroom. “Now, before we get started on class today, I’m going to explain the end of the year final. I know it’s rather early to be talking about it since we have about six months until May but you’re going to want all the time you can get.

“By May I want all of you to have composed your own original pieces,” she smirked as she saw the shock and worry in her students eyes. “It can be entirely original or inspired by someone else's work but it must be created by  _ you _ . The minimum length of the compositions is ten minutes but it can be longer if you desire.

“The five best compositions will be played at our last festival in June… I’m sure you all know what that can mean,” she paused, looking around and noticing a few looks of confusion. “As you should be well aware, many judges- who are somehow involved highly in music- attend this festival and look for potential in our students. The ones who they deem the best get their names spread, which can help a lot for future musicians. As well as that, the top two get the rest of their college fines paid for in scholarships. That means all and any school debt, past or future, will be paid for.”

Your eyes brightened at the thought, knowing just what winning this could mean for you. A future free of school debt- something that you knew wouldn’t happen unless you won this scholarship or one like it.

_ ‘I have to get one of these scholarships,’ _ you thought to yourself. _ ‘This… This could do so much for me! I have to win- I’m determined to!’ _

The professor looked around the room, observing her students who were feeling a range of emotions, from excitement to fear. She caught your eyes, causing you to jump before you saw the small smile across her lips. You awkwardly returned the eyecontact for a few more moments before glancing away, unable to hold it.

“I know this is going to be rather difficult for some of you while others will excel. Either way, I don’t necessary care- No matter what I’m going to get what I want,” her smirk widened at the wide-eyes her students gave her. “That’s for you all to push yourselves and grow as a musician, in a way you can’t grow unless you do this… Now that that’s out of the way, turn to the reading that I gave you on Friday…”

You couldn’t pay much attention to the lecture, your mind focussing on what you had announced only moments before.  _ ‘I have six months to compose something worthy of the judges,’ _ you thought to yourself, feeling a twist in your belly.  _ ‘This is going to be difficult… At least I believe that I already have my opener…’ _ You think back to the melody that had been stuck in your head,  _ ‘now all I need to do is write it down…’ _


End file.
